Gill Seyfang is a Reader in Sustainable Consumption in the School of Environmental Sciences.

A keen proponent of active, engaged learning in the classroom, she has led a group of colleagues in developing innovative performing arts pedagogies for enhancing student engagement in learning. Theoretical Theatre is a semi-improvised comedy performance/teaching method with wide applicability across the curriculum. This has been well-received by students and adopted within several modules in ENV.

In 2014 she was awarded an Excellence in Teaching prize for this work, and in 2015 became a UEA Teaching Fellow. She has presented these methods at national and international conferences, and is described as an international exemplar of best practice teaching in her field. A further strand of this work involves teaching performance and improvisation skills to students themselves, to improve their self-confidence, presentation and teamwork skills, boost resilience and ultimately, enhance their employability. Gill firmly believes that comedy in the classroom should be taken much more seriously as a teaching tool for the 21st century.

Her website (comedyintheclassroom.org) showcases these methods and offers teaching resources for others to adapt and use.